Itineraries flown on 20+ days in the Jun 6 – Jul 31, 2026 schedule · each leg’s record Aug 2025 – Jul 2026

No clear winner: airlines and hours on this route all land within a few points of 65% on time.

Nonstops


United	SFO	SAN	1h 41m	75%	0.4%	2,656	Flying now
Alaska	SFO	SAN	1h 41m	66%	3.1%	2,360	Flying now
Frontier	SFO	SAN	1h 41m	53%	3.9%	206	Flying now
Southwest	SFO	SAN	1h 35m	51%	1.3%	2,001	Flying now

Best connections, one ticket

Most reliable Quickest (80%+ on time)

Ranked by chance you reach San Diego on time. Total trip = scheduled departure to arrival, layover included. Layovers up to 4 hours. Pick a connection for the details.


United Details →	SFO 13:55 → LAX 15:35UA 2610	3h 15m Los Angeles	LAX 18:50 → SAN 19:51UA 5415 · flown by SkyWest	5h 56m	100%	84%
United Details →	SFO 06:00 → LAX 07:39UA 2127	1h 21m Los Angeles	LAX 09:00 → SAN 10:08UA 4643 · flown by SkyWest	4h 08m	96%	83%
Delta Details →	SFO 18:43 → LAX 20:10DL 1629	2h 30m Los Angeles	LAX 22:40 → SAN 23:40DL 3746 · flown by SkyWest	4h 57m	95%	82%
Delta Details →	SFO 05:50 → SLC 08:42DL 1331	2h 33m Salt Lake City	SLC 11:15 → SAN 12:17DL 1296	6h 27m	99%	81%
Alaska Details →	SFO 07:20 → PDX 09:02AS 1410	1h 44m Portland	PDX 10:46 → SAN 13:27AS 1394	6h 07m	97%	81%
Delta Details →	SFO 05:55 → SEA 08:11DL 2721	1h 34m Seattle	SEA 09:45 → SAN 12:38DL 2533	6h 43m	98%	79%
Delta Details →	SFO 14:30 → LAX 15:56DL 2725	2h 19m Los Angeles	LAX 18:15 → SAN 19:16DL 4087 · flown by SkyWest	4h 46m	96%	79%
Delta Details →	SFO 17:07 → SLC 20:02DL 1088	2h 53m Salt Lake City	SLC 22:55 → SAN 23:50DL 1202	6h 46m	97%	79%
Tight connection: often missed
Alaska Details →	SFO 07:03 → SEA 09:13AS 68	50m Seattle	SEA 10:03 → SAN 13:01AS 467	5h 58m	73%	45%
Alaska Details →	SFO 15:02 → PDX 16:47AS 1302	53m Portland	PDX 17:40 → SAN 20:18AS 369	5h 16m	67%	36%
Alaska Details →	SFO 15:49 → LAS 17:30AS 776	49m Las Vegas	LAS 18:19 → SAN 19:36AS 2251 · flown by Horizon	3h 47m	49%	10%

Same layover, different day-part

How often the first flight arrives too late to connect (45 min minimum), for one-ticket layovers of 45–80 minutes.

Morning

SEA · 50m · leaves 07:03 27%

LAS · 1h 10m · leaves 09:45 70%

Afternoon and evening

PHX · 55m · leaves 18:45 63%

LAS · 1h 00m · leaves 13:20 83%

DEN · 1h 05m · leaves 14:35 90%

Delays build through the day, so an afternoon first leg eats the layover. A short connection is fine early in the morning and a gamble later on.

Mixing airlines

One ticketMiss it and the airline rebooks you; bags go through. 45 min is enough.

Separate ticketsMiss it and you buy a new ticket. Re-check bags, clear security again: we require 90 min.


United UA 5605 SFO 08:40 → SLC Alaska AS 3123 SLC 14:39 → SAN Connection details →	2h 50m	7h 06m	100%	83%
American AA 6336 SFO 09:08 → LAX Delta DL 4001 LAX 14:11 → SAN Connection details →	3h 23m	6h 03m	100%	82%
Southwest WN 3645 SFO 17:40 → LAX Delta DL 3746 LAX 22:40 → SAN Connection details →	3h 20m	6h 00m	94%	81%

Rank all connections, any airlines →

Regional partners count as the airline that sells them: SkyWest flying Delta Connection is one Delta ticket.

How these are worked out. Makes the connection: share of the last year’s flights where the first flight arrived with at least 45 minutes to spare (90 on separate tickets). Arrives on time: first flight not cancelled × connection made × second flight not cancelled and arriving within 15 minutes. Not yet counted: the second flight also leaving late (which helps), gate-to-gate distance at the hub, and rebooking after a missed connection.

About this data: US DOT on-time records, Aug 2025 – Jul 2026, all US airlines; regional flights count under the airline that sells them. Schedules (which flights and connections exist, and their times) are as of Jun 6 – Jul 31, 2026; seasonal flights outside that window aren’t ranked. Rebuilt monthly. JSON